Powder injection molding such as metal injection molding may offer a cost-savings advantage on small, complex parts that are difficult to machine. However, the process to design the mold for a given workpiece is often iterative, for example because of difficulties in predicting the amount of shrinkage during the debinding and sintering steps; as such, it may be required to successively manufacture and test several molds before the dimensions for the final mold can be determined. Accordingly, design, manufacture, and test of a mold can lead to significant lead-time initial cost.